Constantly draining battery

k.j · May 16, 2007, 12:59:32 PM

Hello to all who helped me with your advice on my thread re \'Drained battery after flooding\'. I changed my battery out for a new one. Put in a complete set of plugs, checked out the vacuum side (in case I had pulled off a hose) and cleaned up the batt terminals. Was still pulling about 2A from battery (ignition off) and popping and banging on hard accel. Still no joy. Thought I would have to get an auto sparky to check it out. Finally found the problem was the EGI relay was in the closed position constantly. Must have moved it some trying to get it out. I think this is a normally open contact, ie open circuit when the car is switched off and goes closed when she is running. As you know, it\'s connected to fuel pump.
I know RX\'s have problems with flooding, so please (if you\'re gonna remove this relay to crank it over, just be a wee bitty gentle with this girl. I don\'t know if this may be the problem with some of you guys getting drained batteries, but it\'s worth looking at. Oh, the farting on putting my foot down has disappeared too. Thanks again lads for all your input.

Cheers, Kj :driving

chrisBoid · May 16, 2007, 04:42:04 PM

Great stuff. It\'s nice to get this kind of problem sorted.

My saga continues. Had to get a jump start and a new battery last weekend. Fortunately the car is now with someone who can find out what the hell is going on. He has already confirmed a big power drain that would kill the battery in 2 weeks. My trickle charger must have been working overtime the past few years! My suspicions are with the alarm setup.

RAW · May 16, 2007, 05:41:47 PM

my battery only lasts just over a week, and thats with an optima red top! i think it\'s def the alarm-a toad 606. don\'t know if there\'s anything you can do though?

k.j · May 16, 2007, 06:01:36 PM

Have you guys put an ammeter on the battery to check exectly how much of a drain you are geting? In adittion, the alarm set up on RX\'s are crap. We all know that. Have you checked spurious drain at all? I mean, look at any sh*t that will sook her out? I have found a web address that may help you out electricaly. It\'s http://www.rotarydb.info/rotarypdf/94_body_electric_manual_SEARCHABLE.pdf
I know it\'s for a 1994 RX-7, but there is loads of good info in here.

k.j · May 16, 2007, 06:06:03 PM

Quote from: k.jHave you guys put an ammeter on the battery to check exectly how much of a drain you are geting? In adittion, the alarm set up on RX\'s are crap. We all know that. Have you checked spurious drain at all? I mean, look at any sh*t that will sook her out? I have found a web address that may help you out electricaly. It\'s http://www.rotarydb.info/rotarypdf/94_body_electric_manual_SEARCHABLE.pdf
I know it\'s for a 1994 RX-7, but there is loads of good info in here.

Sorry, forgot to mention, it\'s 36,337kB in size, so may take a wee while to download. Trust me, it will be worth it.

A smilin\' Kj..............

k.j · May 16, 2007, 06:11:54 PM

Quote from: chrisBoidGreat stuff. It\'s nice to get this kind of problem sorted.

My saga continues. Had to get a jump start and a new battery last weekend. Fortunately the car is now with someone who can find out what the hell is going on. He has already confirmed a big power drain that would kill the battery in 2 weeks. My trickle charger must have been working overtime the past few years! My suspicions are with the alarm setup.

Thank you Sir,

your help was out on the edge for me. Really showed me some new directions. I really do appreciate your assistance chrisBoid.

A friendly \'Sweaty\' fae the highlands............

chrisBoid · May 17, 2007, 08:57:15 AM

Quote from: RAWmy battery only lasts just over a week, and thats with an optima red top! i think it\'s def the alarm-a toad 606. don\'t know if there\'s anything you can do though?

That doesn\'t sound right at all. Either the install is bad or the alarm model is bad. You can try contacting the alarm fitter or even TOAD for advice as they may know about a problem with a specific model.

Certain alarms are well known (to the people in the know ) for being power drainers.

Quote from: k.jHave you guys put an ammeter on the battery to check exectly how much of a drain you are geting?

The guy looking at mine told me the drain but I can\'t quite remember what he said, I know the number had a 4 in it though, perhaps 4 amps or 0.4v? Either way, it was big.

It annoys me that the alarm installers do not check things like this, it should be part of their quality assurance of their own work.

nikp · May 17, 2007, 10:02:27 AM

Quote from: RAWmy battery only lasts just over a week, and thats with an optima red top! i think it\'s def the alarm-a toad 606. don\'t know if there\'s anything you can do though?

I have a red top, one of the smallest you can get. A 25 i think. It\'s tiny. And it was lasting about 3-4 days before it went flat, which used to be fine as i could drive it twice a week, and therefore keep it topped up. It is now going flat in a day, so i think i have a problem too! Also have the Toad Ai606.

However, with my toad alarm, the actual siren, along with the battery back up, has been removed. Don\'t know if this would have anything to do with it. AA man checked it all out and said it\'s charging fine, and the battery is in very good condition. So don\'t know what to do now - guess i should get the alarm fixed and go from there.

rx jamie · May 17, 2007, 11:13:42 AM

altenators have a little resistor on them that stops the battery loosing its charge. if thats gone the battery will drain its power over night. but it will charge fine when driving.
very common on old fords.

nikp · May 17, 2007, 11:28:54 AM

hmmm, interesting. Thanks for the input - is there any way to confirm that this the problem?

rx jamie · May 17, 2007, 12:23:57 PM

im not sure i had an old xr2i and the aa chap who bumped me off one day, told me all about it. i just changed the altenator and problem solved. then it happened twice on my rst series 1. changed the altenator and problem solved. worth a shot.
may be worth even just borrowing someone elses altenator to see if the problem persists ?

nikp · May 17, 2007, 12:28:36 PM

Yeah, i\'ll give it a go.

Apparently there can also be a problem with the light in the glove box (Known Mazda fault) so i might also check that out.

k.j · May 18, 2007, 08:51:45 AM

Quote from: chrisBoidThat doesn\'t sound right at all. Either the install is bad or the alarm model is bad. You can try contacting the alarm fitter or even TOAD for advice as they may know about a problem with a specific model.

Certain alarms are well known (to the people in the know ) for being power drainers.

The guy looking at mine told me the drain but I can\'t quite remember what he said, I know the number had a 4 in it though, perhaps 4 amps or 0.4v? Either way, it was big.

It annoys me that the alarm installers do not check things like this, it should be part of their quality assurance of their own work.

Not really too sure what type of alarm is fitted to my rex. I think it\'s a standard one as the car is a jap import. The imobiliser works and the indicator lights flash when she goes off but no horn or siren. But since I repaired the EGI relay, the current drain has dropped from 2A to about 35mA. A hell of a lot better than before and as I said no banging or poping on hard acceleration.

nikp · May 18, 2007, 09:09:42 AM

I checked the current drain on my car last night. Looks like it\'s 0.02amps, which i presume aint much. So charged the battery up and am leaving it with nothing connected to see if it loses it charge. If so, another Â£80 battery is on the cards!

k.j · May 18, 2007, 09:48:35 AM

Quote from: nikpI checked the current drain on my car last night. Looks like it\'s 0.02amps, which i presume aint much. So charged the battery up and am leaving it with nothing connected to see if it loses it charge. If so, another Â£80 battery is on the cards!

I wish you the best of luck nikp. I know it can be a real bitch trying to nail down this sort of problem. You could check the electrolyte in your battery. Manual says it should be between 1.22 and 1.29. Also the voltage at the terminals when she is running. Should be 14.1 to 14.7V. Not sure what year your car is, but I have a \'93 RX-7 and if it\'s any good to you I\'ve attached a PDF manual for this here. Lemme know how you get on. (I think I got this from another thread on this website)

It\'s http://www.rx7city.com/93manual.htm